The spirits were about a span
long, and the Count was anxious that they should grow. They were
therefore buried under two cartloads of manure, and the pile daily
sprinkled with a certain liquor prepared with great trouble by the
adepts. The pile after such sprinklings began to ferment and steam, as
if heated by a subterranean fire. When the bottles were removed, it was
found that the spirits had grown to about a span and a half each; the
male _homunculi_ were come into possession of heavy beards, and the nails
of the fingers had grown. In two of the bottles there was nothing to be
seen save clear water, but when the Abbe knocked thrice at the seal upon
the mouth, uttering at the same time certain Hebrew words, the water
turned a mysterious colour, and the spirits showed their faces, very
small at first, but growing in size till they attained that of a human
countenance. And this countenance was horrible and fiendish.'
Haddo spoke in a low voice that was hardly steady, and it was plain that
he was much moved. It appeared as if his story affected him so that he
could scarcely preserve his composure.
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